children

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Room for one more? World population to reach 7 BILLION in next few days
Children most likely to be born in Asia-Pacific region
Fears over pressure on food supply and medical care

The world's population looks set to smash through the seven billion barrier in the next few days, according to the United Nations.

It comes just 12 years since the total reached six billion - with official estimates saying the figure will top eight billion in 2025 and 10 billion before the end of the century.  read more »

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Protesters Demand Honest GMO Labels at Right 2 Know March
The Right to Know Where Food Comes From

[October 1, 2011] Starting today, thousands of Americans will march in protest from New York City all the way to Washington D.C. to demand clear, honest labeling of foods with genetically modified ingredients.

Genetically modified foods are subject to disclosure and labeling requirements in many countries, but currently, United States law does not require food producers to label genetically modified foods sold to consumers as genetically modified. The only way for consumers who prefer not to eat genetically modified foods to avoid GMOs is to buy produce only from farmers they know, carefully research the origins of the food they purchase, or limit themselves to buying only food that either been certified by the USDA as organic or has been voluntarily labeled by its manufacturer and certified by a third party as non-GMO.  read more »

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Disneyland, the original California park, was groundbreaking in every possible way. Prior to Disneyland’s creation, amusement parks were, by and large, dirty, dangerous places aimed almost exclusively at teenagers. Parents didn’t go on rides, they sat on benches while the kids played. As an animator, Walt Disney had already earned a reputation as a maverick, a rebel genius who was able to sell adult audiences on feature-length cartoons, something his peers had claimed would never work. Disneyland was the culmination of many of Walt’s big dreams, a different kind of park, where parents and children could have fun together. Walt Disney told stories, and Disneyland allowed guests to become a part of those stories.

Walt Disney World History Year by Year  read more »

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According to the UN, unsanitary water kills more people worldwide than war. As the precious water supply dwindles, it may prove to be more than just a crisis for developing countries.

Everyone is aware of the dangers of peak oil, but peak water is just as, if not more, devastating. The planet's fresh water supply is a precious resource and the rate at which the industrialised world consumes it is always increasing. As such, there is a fear, as with oil, that eventually extraction rates hit a peak and it's only downhill from thereon-in. Staff at the Pacific Institute however have made a disturbing discovery - that the US hit 'peak water' in 1970... and nobody noticed.

The Facts About The Global Drinking Water Crisis

• 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water, roughly one-sixth of the world's population.

Consumption

• The average American uses 100 to 175 gallons of water per day.

• The average African Family uses 5 gallons per day.

• It takes 5 liters of water to make 1 liter of bottled water.

• Almost 70 percent of the available fresh water gets used for irrigation in agriculture.

• More than half of the water used for irrigation leaks, evaporates or runs off.

• It takes 2,900 gallons of water to produce one quarter pound hamburger (just the meat)

Our Planet  read more »

Kids, the climate-crisis-affected generation, refuse to inherit a damaged planet from us, from parent and grandparent generations. They demand the atmosphere protected for their future. They will have iMatter climate march on Mother's Day, May 7-14; they are taking legal action to claim "the atmosphere belongs to us all". Youth to preserve the planet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia announced today that they're suing the government in order to create an "atmospheric trust," arguing that public trust law should protect the atmosphere for future generations. The plaintiffs and petitioners on all the cases are young people. Kids deserve a healthy Earth to live, to survive, to call it home. Shall we, parent / grandparent generations, leave behind at least a reasonably sustainable (if not better) place behind us for our kids, for children’s children? Regardless, now kids are standing up for their future.

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Mexican Lawmakers Ban Junk Food in Schools, Require Physical Education
MEXICO CITY – The lower house of Congress approved two reform measures banning the sale of junk food in schools and making physical education classes mandatory in Mexico, where 30 percent of children are obese.

A majority of lawmakers voted during a regular session Tuesday to approve the changes, acknowledging that childhood obesity tripled in Mexico in the past 20 years and federal and state officials must take action to deal with the situation.

Schools will be required to provide 30 minutes of physical education time every day to help students lose weight.

Some 70 percent of adults in Mexico, according to official figures, are overweight, while 70 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 11, or some 4.5 million minors, are overweight. Some 40 percent of Mexicans, according to the 2006 National Health Survey, are obese.

The percentage of Mexico’s population classified as overweight or obese has tripled since 1980. “Childhood obesity has become a social problem and a serious health problem,” lawmakers said.  read more »

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The Economist magazine calls CITES suppress- ion of debate on bluefin tuna dis- honorable: IT WAS a moment of some drama when delegates assembled in Doha came to vote on a ban in the trade in bluefin tuna on March 18th. The previous evening many represent- atives of the 175 member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) had been at a reception at the Japanese embassy. Prominent on the menu was bluefin tuna sushi. On the agenda the next day at the CITES meeting was a proposal to list the bluefin tuna as sufficiently endangered that it would qualify for a complete ban in the trade of the species (The Economist supports such a ban).  read more »